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News.com.au
01-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
ACT cop accused of horrific comments to 17-year-old at watch house
WARNING: This story includes references to Indigenous death and self-harm. Shocking comments from an ACT watch house officer to a 17-year-old boy have sparked outrage around the country. The incident allegedly took place after the Indigenous boy was arrested last year. Footage played during a recent ACT Supreme Court hearing showed the officer asking the boy whether he was thinking of taking his own life, then goading him after he gave an answer. The officer allegedly asked 'Are you thinking of necking yourself?'. When the boy replied that he was not, the officer allegedly said 'You wouldn't have the guts to do it anyway.' Several officers standing behind the teenager – none of whom made the offensive comment – can be seen smirking in the vision, according to the Canberra Times which first reported the story. The Times reports that the same sergeant asked the teen — who was in foster care — if he had parents. He replied 'Nah'. 'No parents? You just magically appeared on the face of the Earth?' the sergeant replied. In a statement sent to ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said the officer's actions 'are unacceptable and will not be tolerated'. 'I hold everyone in ACT Policing to high standards of professionalism and integrity, as do our officers, and this is in line with community expectations,' he said. 'The comments of the officer during a Watch House intake in 2024 are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. 'It falls well below the standards expected of our officers and was dealt with swiftly after the incident occurred with the matter currently being investigated by AFP Professional Standards.' He said that while the investigation continues, 'appropriate action has been taken to ensure the seriousness of the incident was understood'. A young Aboriginal leader, Jordan Hindmarsh-Keevil, posted a video on his popular social media channels calling out the incident. 'I hate making videos about negative things, but this is f***ing very important because I bet you didn't hear about it,' he said. 'Although this video might make you angry, I do not mean to divide anyone. All I want from this is for people who believe that Australia is not a racist country — those people say so because it doesn't say it legally anywhere. 'What they do not understand is this treatment is not a one-off. This happens all the time. 'This officer looked at a 17-year-old boy and he said 'are you thinking about necking yourself?' Two of the other coppers who were standing next to this man started smirking and smiling. And this officer had already mocked this kid for not having parents because he was in foster care. 'I am angry at the police that did this but I'm angry that this type of hatred towards other people exists'. The Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, called the incident 'abhorrent misconduct'. 'In the context of the horrifying and ongoing epidemic of Aboriginal deaths in custody in this jurisdiction and across Australia, this comment can be seen as a deliberate incitement to an Aboriginal child to end his life,' she said in a statement. 'What is even more horrific is the young person is a survivor of forcible removal … the police interrogation used against this young person by police is shameful.' Professor Hannah McGlade from Curtin University researches issues around Indigenous human rights and issues in custody. She was horrified when she learned about the officer's comments. 'It was horrific that a young vulnerable Aboriginal boy is being taunted to commit suicide at the watch house,' she told 'And being goaded. Do people not know the leading cause of death for young Aboriginal boys is suicide? Do they think it's a laughing matter? ' This is about inflicting mental trauma. Severe trauma,' she said.'The kind of trauma that can lead to a child that can take their own life. 'How much more cruel could you be? I'm a family foster carer and that weighs heavily. It beggars belief. We simply haven't tackled racism in this country. We're criminalising the most vulnerable children in Australia.
Tom's Guide
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I went to the 'biggest coffee party on earth' — and these 5 coffee gadgets caught my attention
The London Coffee Festival is the highlight of my year, every year. As a Homes Editor who writes about the best coffee makers on a daily basis, I feel right at home surrounded by independent roasters and innovative coffee gear. And if you're wondering how many espressos I drank, I think I blacked out after coffee number 9. But even countless coffees didn't stop me from pining after the latest and greatest coffee tech the "biggest coffee party on earth" had to offer. From AeroPress to Fellow, I saw some seriously cool tech that I can't stop thinking about. Be warned: not all of these products are available to buy yet, and some of them are still in development. But if this coffee tech is a sign of the innovations to come, I think my job's safe for another year. I got to the festival bright and early on opening day and made an immediate beeline for the new Fellow Espresso Series 1. Unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea. The machine was so swamped by coffee obsessives, you'd think we were at a movie premiere. On round 2 though, I managed to get up close and personal with Fellow's first espresso machine. And oh boy, is it even prettier in person. The finish is clean, sleek, modern and surprisingly neat. I was mentally sizing it up, trying to figure out if I had room on my (already laden) countertops. I tried (and failed) to suss out of we could expect a new espresso grinder to go with the Espresso Series 1 from some very tight-lipped Fellow employees. No matter, because the espresso made for me by London's iconic Watch House coffee roasters (using Fellow's Opus grinder) completely blew my socks off. Although I'm more than a little gutted that I'll have to wait around 6 months to try it for myself and see if it deserves a spot in our best espresso machine roundup, it was great to see this machine in action. If you preorder the Series 1 , you can get it for $1,199 plus $100 in Fellow Drops credits. For my fellow Europeans, pre-orders have yet to open. The Pietro is hands-down the prettiest hand grinder I've ever seen. It feels incredibly luxe, too. The cold steel finish and upright construction make it totally fitting for a permanent home on your countertops. Brought to the market by Italian brand Fiorenzaro, which specializes in electric grinders, the Pietro is a tribue to founder Pietro Fiorenzaro. The Pietro claims to usher in "the vertical revolution", featuring 58mm flat vertical burrs which can take you from espresso all the way through to filter coffee. It's available in a range of gorgeous colors on the company's website. There's U.K. distribution from Sigma Coffee for £360, and U.S. distribution through Seattle Coffee Gear for $475. The xbloom might not be new to you, but it's new to me. Available for U.K. distribution finally through BrewedByHand, this is the first time I've been able to get my hands on this game-changing drip brewer. And why did nobody tell me just how smart this thing is? My first impression was a sip from a fresh-brewed carafe, which was astoundingly good. Juicy, fresh, vibrant. Exactly my kind of drip coffee, and not the sort of thing I'd be able to achieve at home without some serious hands-on adjustments to my setup. The xbloom does this all for you, allowing you to tap an NFC tag agsinst the top of your machine, which will automatically adjust the settings for the perfect result, with zero experimentation needed. Everything has been thought through with the xbloom. It's got a super sensitive in-built scale for more manual brewing, and its attachments allow you to use it as a grinder for espresso or other brewing methods. Even as it brews, its water flows in a circle (like you'd pour it with a gooseneck kettle) and the machine lightly shakes the brewing cup to agitate the grounds, reducing clumping. I'm going to need this in my kitchen ASAP. It's available for U.S. readers for $599 at Confession time: I've never tried the AeroPress. But if I was to try one, I think it'd be the new Go Plus. It's totally portable, pouring coffee directly into a tumbler that also doubles as a storage container when you're done. Plus, it comes in pink. The custom travel tumbler comes with a magnetic leak-resistant lid and a built in filter holder, meaning I could take it on those family trips where you're otherwise stuck drinking instant coffee. As a newly-minted coffee snob, some portable coffee gear is becoming an essential. The Go Plus is $89.95 or £85.99 and comes in three colors. A suspiciously sparse stall caught my eye as I made a final, jittery sweep of the festival. The brand is LinkBar, and it could well be the future of coffee shops. This under-counter coffee and milk dispenser system looks and performs like a high-end faucet, but the milk and coffee it dispensed was far superior to the sort of coffee you'll get in offices and even some mainstream coffee shops. I loved my little latte, and it took less than 15 seconds to pour. The microfoam was fine and full of texture, and the coffee had a dark punchiness that would definitely satisfy the average Starbucks consumer. I suspect my employer is more than a few years away from investing in this kind of coffee tech, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw LinkBars popping up in major corporate spaces or even coffee shops in the coming years. If this is the future of coffee, I can confirm that it tastes delicious.
